Food Lover's Odyssey

Italian Hot Chocolate at Carnevale in Venice

 

The best hot chocolate I've ever had was during Carnevale in Venice. The thick Italian hot chocolate is so dense that it verges on being a pudding, and Carnival in Venice is where I first tasted this type of hot chocolate.

 

We arrived for our Carnevale weekend in Venice late at night and took a vaporetto from Piazzale Roma to the Accademia stop. It was my first non-summer vist to Venice, and the city seemed deserted. As we passed the Erberia (near the Rialto bridge), there were a few sounds of laughter and human existence. After we passed the Rialto bridge, there was no one, no gondole on the lagoon, and the only sound was the rumbling of the vaporetto motor as it poked along the Grand Canal. There was a light fog that sat just on the water's surface. It seemed that the ghosts of Carnevale's past were rising to the surface to welcome us to Venice. The black night, the only lights - those bouncing on the water, the buildings - at the same time, both exotic and decaying, the fog, and the silence created an atmosphere both enchanting and eerie.

During the day, the atmosphere was one of only merriment. From early in the morning to late in the night, the streets were filled with elaborately costumed and masked partygoers. Always silent but showing their willingness through gestures, they gladly stopped for anyone asking to take a photo. As we wandered through Venice, locals offered us and other visitors mulled wine and fried treats. Saint Mark's Square was celebration central, and a grand stage was set up for the many costume parades and shows that took place day and night. Strings of lights decorated the narrow calle around the square. At night, the lights twinkled overhead and danced below in the waters of the canal to add to the festive mood. It was also normal to see these masked partygoers riding gondole or on the vaporetto. Festivity, fantasy, and frivolity; that is Venice during Carnevale.

 

 

Venice in winter is also COLD. The chill, a cold wet one from the fog, seemed to seep through our many layers of clothes. We found a cafe near Saint Mark's to take a break from the cold and also found Italian hot chocolate. The menu was filled with at least 15 versions of hot chocolate - dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, with any kind of liqueur that you wanted, etc. etc. I got the dark and my friend the white. At the time, we were both living in Paris, so we were more than familiar with the hot chocolates of Angelina, LaDuree, Cafe Flore, and the rest, but this was oh so different. Instead of drinking it, it was so thick you could almost eat it with a spoon. Almost that is, it was still creamy and fluid enough to drink, and we drank in the hot and creamy chocolate. During the entire weekend, we made daily stops at the cafe for our hot chocolate break.

After we returned, I did some research to find that this quasi-pudding drink was the typical hot chocolate of Italy. You can find it in any cafe in Italy during the winter. I've since found it even in France and Prague, going by the name of "Italian hot chocolate" on menus. (Prior to Venice, I didn't fully understand the meaning of the name on the menu.) The secret is to use a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it. Using the best quality chocolate is also key.

This hot chocolate and Carnevale in Venice will forever be paired together in my mind. With each sip I think of Venetian masks, elaborate costumes, zeppole (Venetian donuts), parades, and the lagoon in winter - misty and magical. After the recipe for the hot chocolate, I've added a video of photos of my Carnevale in Venice. In the time it takes you to drink a cup of hot chocolate you can take a little trip to Venice.

Carnevale di Venezia 2011, is from February 26 to March 8, 2011. The cafe where we had our first Italian hot chocolate is in Campo St. Stefano. It has yellow tablecloths and dark wood trim around the entrance, and no name other than Cafe.

 

 

Italian Hot Chocolte - Cioccolata Calda

(Makes 4 servings)

1 cup whole milk, separated in 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 1/2 ounces high quality dark chocolate 70%, finely chopped

About a cup of whipped cream, optional

 

Combine the 3/4 cup milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan and heat until it starts to bubble around the edges. While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the 1/4 milk and the cornstarch until it is smooth. Once the milk mixture starts bubbling around the edges, add the milk and cornstarch mixture to it and whisk until it's heated through. Add the the chocolate and whisk together until it's smooth, hot and thick enough to coat a spoon. Pour into mugs and serve with whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you'd like a little liqueur flavor add 1 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the hot chocolate right before pouring. I love Baileys Irish Cream or Kahlua.

Related Posts:

Favorite Scenes and Costumes from Carnival in Venice 2011

Martedi Grasso - Fat Tuesday in Venice

Fritelle, Hot Chocolate and Costumes - Welcome to Carnival in Venice 2011

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

Scenes from CioccolaTo - Chocolate Festival in Turin

Chiacchiere - Fried Sweets for Carnival in Italy

The Italian Teacher, The Friend and a Magical Chocolate Kahlua Budino

Eurochocolate Perugia - Italy's Biggest Chocolate Festival

Nutella Love Cake - Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake with Nutella Ganache for World Nutella Day

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

A Lesson on Venetian Mask Making

Best Ways to Savor Venice

A Morning at the Rialto Market in Venice

Cicchetti and Ombra - Little Tastes of Venice

Lo Spritz - Happy Hour in Venice

Burano - The Jewel of the Venetian Lagoon

Twist on a Venetian Spritz and Embracing Italian Culture

 

 

I spent the majority of 2009 in Italy.  Fabulous food, luscious landscapes, the magnificent Mediterrenean, and passionate people, who you want to befriend or strangle depending on the moment. 

 

During my time in Italy, I realized there are a few things about Italians and their culture that are important to understand and embrace to travel sanely in Italy.  Here are my top 6 tips for embracing Italians and their culture:

 

 

  

1.  You’re not invisible, you’re in Italy

Cutting in front of line is a national sport in this country. Don’t take it personally when the line-cutting athlete races past you. It’s best to join in.  It’s actually quite a good use of time management.  Why wait for a group of children or tourists to sample each gelato flavor when you know exactly what you what. 

 

 

2.  When you see the streets deserted and stores closed, don’t worry the rapture hasn’t come. 

You haven’t been left behind. It’s 1pm and feeding, er I mean, lunch time, that’s all. It’s best to get yourself to a trattoria, too.  Because if you think you’re eating when it’s convenient for you (say like 3pm), think again.  Stores close, even grocery stores, from 1:00-3:00pm (some until 4:00pm) for lunch. 

  

 

3.  The most dangerous person in Italy is an Italian grandma (la nonna) with her rolling shopping cart. 

Yes, Italy has the mafia and Berlusconi, both quite scary, but NOTHING is scarier than when you get in the way of la nonna and her daily shopping.  She’s had that rolling cart (her weapon of choice along with her elbow) a long time, and knows how to wield it wisely.

  

 

4.  Crosswalks, stop signs, and red lights mean nothing to the Italian driver. 

And, the pedestrian that thinks they have the right away (which they legally do) is crazier than the guy who bludgeoned Berlusconi with a metal souvenir.  However, the Italian driver will stop for someone, la nonna with her rolling shopping cart!  If you fear for your life while trying to cross the street (and you should), follow la nonna. 

  

 

5.  Timeliness is NOT close to godliness.  Complaining about the late is an even greater sin.

Being on time is looked at as a character flaw.  Actually, I’m not an on-time person (this might be the understatement of the decade).  However, I am always on time for planes, trains, buses and boats.  Even in these cases, in Italy it’s never correct to badmouth the late.  Twice I complained about a friend being late (once we almost missed a train, the other a boat).  Each time the Italian, to whom I complained, frowned and defended the tardy “Brava la tua amica.”  (Well done, your friend) one said. 

  

 

6.  Gli anziani (the elderly) are always right, and you are maleducato (badly raised by your parents) to question them.

The elderly man (or woman) has every right to yell at whomever he wants, even your young niece.  If you step in to calm him, you become his new target.  Suddenly I was maleducata and told Vai alla tua casa! (Go home!).  Visitors aren’t the only ones susceptible to the wrath of the anziani.  I’ve seen plenty of young Italians who got the same, or worse, treatment.  It’s better to agree and smile.  Best places for watching gli anziani at their best are buses, the metro, supermarkets and street markets.  You'll have some laughs and great stories to tell.

  

  

 

Make no mistake.  I ADORE Italians and all their quirks.  One thing I realized during my stay in Italy is that they lead with their hearts and not their heads.  Sometimes this creates altercations, but most of the time they are endearing, especially gli anziani!  Any other tips you can think of to add to the list?

If all else fails, sit at an outdoor cafe and have a drink.  I've come up with a twist on the Spritz from Venice that you can easily make anywhere.  Spritz is the happy hour drink of Venetians.  They drink it before lunch, after work and before dinner, to start a party, to end a party, as they munch down cicheti, or sit along a canal and watch gondola after gondola glide by.  It's one part bitter (Compari or Aperol), one part Prosecco (Italy's sparkling wine), and one part sparkling water.  I've added my own twist to this and used Pomegranate juice instead of Campari or Aperol.

Pomegranate Spritz

 

(serves 6)

 

2 cups Pomegranate juice

2 cups Prosecco

2 cups Sprakling water

6 orange slices

  

 

 

Mix the pomegranate juice, Prosecco and water together.  Pour into 6 glasses filled with a few cubes of ice.  Add and orange slice into each drink.  Enjoy!

  

 

 

 

Happy New Year's all and best wishes for 2010!

New Year's Eve Cocktail with Sicilian Granita

 

 
Celebrate! It's the end of the year and a beginning of a new one, actually the end of a decade. (Wow, did 10 years just whiz by me?)

It's a time to share with friends and family.  A time to reflect on the year.  For me this year included, a lot of  fabulous stuff: an absolute dream of  six months eating my way through France and Italy plus a bunch of great new friends I found along the way, starting this blog and meeting a whole new community of people that live for travel and food as much as I do.  It's a time for reviewing accomplishments and setting new year's resolutions---maybe THIS will be the year I actually exercise more and lose those extra "pastry chef" pounds (ya right).  My friend makes a "bucket list" and at the end of each year she crosses off the things she accomplished and adds new items to her list.  On my list for 2010 is to travel more, try more new foods, and write more.  Maybe I'll even make my own "bucket list."  What's on your "resolution" list for the coming year?

Food and alcohol are usually a big part of a New Year's Eve celebration.  This spiked Meyer lemon granita is a perfect beginning and end to your celebration.  Along with the recipe for the drink, I've included a few of my favorite pictures from Sicily where I had similar versions of this cocktail. I hope you make it and enjoy a little taste of Sicily with your New Year's celebration.

 

Spiked Meyer Lemon Granita Cocktail

(Makes 8 cocktails)

  

4 cups Meyer lemon granita (recipe below)

1 cup Vodka (citrus flavored, preferred)

8 slices of lemon

  

Place 1/2 cup of the granita into each of eight glasses.  Pour a 1-ounce shot of vodka over the granita in each glass.  Garnish the rim of each glass with a lemon slice and serve.

  

  

Meyer Lemon Granita

(makes 8 servings)

  

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Rind from 2 Meyer lemons (use a peeler and remove all of the white pith)

1 1/2 cups lemon juice (from about 8-10 lemons)

  

Boil the water and granulated sugar.  Remove from the heat once the mixture boils, and cool to room temperature.  Add the rinds from the lemons and lemon juice and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  Strain out the rinds, and pour into a 13x9-inch glass dish.  Put in the freezer.  Every 30 minutes, scrape the mixture with a fork.  Repeat this process every 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours.  The mixture should be frozen but in small chunky shavings.

  

Here's to a happy New Year's Eve for everyone!

 

Related Posts:

 

Christmas Markets and Events in Italy

 

Twist on a Venetian Spritz and Embracing Italian Culture

 

A Merry Christmas Gingerbread House

 

Christmas Baking Memories and a Snowball Cookie Recipe

 

A Culinary Traveler's Year in Photos

 

Lo Spritz -- Happy Hour in Venice

 

Spritz is a neon orange or sometimes neon red aperitivo.  During the evening, these brightly colored drinks fill outdoor tables and line bars throughout Venice.  They're available at the Piazza San Marco and on terraces of swanky Venetian hotels.  You can also do as Venetians do and find the smallest, oldest bar in the neighborhood,  squeeze through the crowd and flailing hands of Italian conversations, order one, and go outside to drink while sitting on the pavement.

 

Spritz contains prosecco or white wine, a bitter liqueur of either Campari or Aperol (Aperol is a little sweeter than Compari), and sparkling mineral water.  It also has an olive and slice of orange, and you usually get a little bowl of potato chips on the side.   I've read and heard arguments about where to find the best Spritz, but I believe you find the best Spritz at a bar with an awesome view and with a group of friends.

 

 

 

 

My favorite places to have a Spritz in Venice always include a beautiful view.

 

 

Along the Fondamenta Zattere, I usually finish a morning of walking with a Spritz or two.  The Fondamenta looks onto the Island of Giudecca. On Saturdays you can watch the cruise ships on their way out to sea, and waive at the passengers.

 

The "Erbaria di Rialto" which is behind the Rialto Market and looks onto the Grand Canal.  There are four restaurants that also serve appetizers before and after meal times.  I prefer to go after lunchtime and get bruschetta and a Spritz.  Also at night, you can get a Spritz from one of the bars that are opened late and sit on the canal bank.

 

Campo Santa Margherita is near my school.  It's also near the Italian University.  The weekend starts on Thursday evening here, and there are several bars packed with overflow running onto the campo. 

 

 

Along the banks of Guidecca, you can sip a Spritz and watch the city of Venice magically float on the lagoon.  From this view you may never want to leave.   

 

One suggestion, though, if you don't plan on eating your potato chips, don't leave them on the table.  You might get attacked by the birds like I did.

 

 

 

 

Here is an adapted recipe for Spritz that I received from the Istituto di Venezia, where I'm taking Italian classes.

 

Lo Spritz

Serves 4

1 cup Prosecco or dry white wine

1 cup Campari or Aperol

1 cup Sparkling Mineral Water

 
Mix together and pour in a short glass with the usual one ice cube.  Add an olive and orange slice to each glass.  Cin Cin and Enjoy!